Antisplash shoe heel



Nov. 20, 1951 w. H. DOTZENROTH 2,575,752

ANTISPLASH SHOE HEEL Filed Nov. 14, 1950 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 20, 1951ANTISPLASH SHOE HEEL William H. Dotzenroth, Montreal, Quebec, Canada,assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporationof New Jersey Application November 14, 1950, Serial No. 195,525 InCanada October 12, 1950 3 Claims. (01. 36-70) This invention relates toan improved shoe heel which is provided with a tread adapted to preventor reduce the splashing of the backs of the legs with ground water.

In most cases, the backs of the legs are splashed by throwing the wateror slush from the heel of one foot to back of the leg of the other foot.Prior heels have been devised to reduce the amount of splash. Some ofwhich attempt to drain the Water from the heel before it can be thrownover to the other leg and others attempt to hold the water on the heelto prevent it from being thrown. The use of either method above failedto control all of the water picked up from the ground and some of suchprior heel constructions were provided with objectionable fragileoverhanging projections for draining off the water, and other types wereprovided with poor wearing sponge rubber portions for absorbing thewater.

In accordance with the present invention, improved results are obtainedby employing a novel durable tread surface comprising a combination ofridges and grooves, which first drains off the major portion of thewater and retains any residue.

This invention is described in further detail in reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a womans overshoe provided with a shoeheel embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the tread surface of the shoe shown in Fig.1; and

Fi 3 is an enlarged view of the tread surface of the shoe heel.

The womens overshoe lil as shown in Fig. 1 is for the right foot, and itis provided with a heel II having a tread surface I2, as shown in Figs.2 and 3. The tread surface I2 is preferably made of a yieldableelastomer, such as vulcanized rubber composition of high abrasionresistance. Such material is preferably harder than normal for overshoetreads. The surface I2 is provided with transverse ridges I3, which areseparated by transverse depressions I4 extending parallel therewith. Theslopes of the ridges converge to relatively sharp apices I5. Convergingdiagonal grooves l6 cut the ridges I3 to a depth below the valleys ordepressions I4. The inside corner of the heel tread, that is the cornerwhich falls on the same side of the foot as the big toe, is depressed toa depth below the depth of the grooves IE to form a recess II into whichthe converging ends of the grooves l6 terminate. The converging ends ofthe grooves I6 are sufficiently close to each other to permit any waterin the adjacent grooves to collect on the drip points I8 of dividestherebetween. As shown in the drawings the divides are wedged shaped andcome to a point, but such divides may be slightly truncated, so as toform blunt drip points and thereby permit the converging ends of thegrooves IE to be slightly separated. Other drip points I9 are formed oneach side of the group of grooves IS.

The heel II is believed to operate as follows to prevent the groundwater thereon from being thrown to the back of the leg of the oppositefoot. As the tread surface l2 of the heel II comes down on a wet hardsurface the ridges I3 are sufficiently high to prevent the entire treadsurface from coming in contact with the hard surface. When the heel israised from the surface, the ridges prevent the formation of a vacuumbetween the tread surface I2 and the ground surface, and the water isfree to run down the ridges to the relatively sharp apices I5. The wateris thereby drained off onto the ground surface, or the water thereon, asthe tread surface I 2 leaves the ground surface. Some of the remainingwater on the tread surface I2 runs down the grooves I6, which are thenpointed downwardly towards the inside corner of the heel II which pointstowards the ground after the wearers foot has been elevated. The watercollects on the drip points I8 of the divides, and to some extent on theouter points l9 and runs off onto the ground. Any water not thus drainedaway from the tread surface I2 is held in the depressions of the treadsurface including the valleys I 4, the grooves I6, and the recess. H atthe converging ends thereof.

The preferred form of this invention has been described herein more orless in detail, but it will be understood that changes may be made insuch details without departing from the spirit of this invention and itis intended to cover such changes in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

1. An anti-splash heel having a tread surface comprising transverseridges, and converging grooves extending through said ridges at an anglethereto and towards the inside corner of the heel.

2. An anti-splash heel according to claim 1 where said grooves extendinto said tread surface to a depth below the base of said ridges and theconverging ends of the grooves terminate in a recess at the insidecorner of said heel.

3. An anti-splash heel having a tread surface comprising transverseridges, converging grooves extending through said ridges at an anglethereto and towards the inside corner of the heel, said inside cornerhaving a recess therein, said grooves terminating at the inner edge ofsaid recess, and having relatively narrow drip points formed on eitherside of the converging ends of said grooves.

WILLIAM H. DOTZENROTH.

No references cited.

